Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner Praveen Pardeshi on Thursday directed a fire audit of all municipal buildings, especially hospitals, in the backdrop of the blaze at GST Bhavan. He has also ordered regular mock drills for the staff.
The fire at GST Bhavan in Mazgaon on February 17 damaged three floors and destroyed several important documents. Despite it being a Monday, there were no casualties as most of the employees ran out of the building. The State government ordered an inquiry into the fire soon after.
The municipal commissioner held a meeting with Chief Fire Officer P.S. Rahangdale and officers from various departments to review fire safety in municipal buildings. Mr. Pardeshi also ordered a special fire audit of all municipal hospitals as they see lakhs of patients from all over the country.
He directed officials to ensure that any scrap material lying around in corridors be removed as that blocks fire exits and all electrical connections be checked.
Mr. Rahangdale informed the commissioner that firemen had seized around 11,000 unauthorised gas cylinders in the last six months.
A major fire at ESIC Hospital in Marol, Andheri, in 2018, had killed several people. There was another major fire in a private company in Marol earlier this month.